How I shot life in the slums of India

Cheryl Newman talks to Poulomi Basu about photographing a young Indian
woman in the slums of Uttar Pradesh

Kajal Gautam, 16, with her close friend and cousin Sarita Gautam, 17, walking in the evening to a toilet in an open defacation area of the village, Nihura Basti, Kanpur, India, 2014.Nihura Basti, Kanpur, India, 2014.
Photo: WaterAid / Poulomi Basu

By Cheryl Newman

6:20PM BST 08 Sep 2014

Poulomi Basu is photographer based in New Delhi, India. In recent months she has been working with Water Aid to document the lives of ordinary women, whose access to clean water is crucial both in terms of sanitation and raising their status within the community.

To tell her story, Basu chose to focus specifically on the daily life of a 16 year old girl. Kajal Gautum lives in one of the slums in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where the limited access to facilities - some 4000 people share 10 toilets - has a detrimental effect on both her physical and mental health. In addition to the profoundly unsanitary conditions, each time she visits she must run a gauntlet of verbal abuse from local men. The threat of rape is always present. "Every day Kajal has to deal with something that is shameful and dangerous" says Basu. "She loves education, going to school and studying. I’ve seen this with a lot of the girls I met in the slums. They don’t really want to get married, they want to see if there’s an alternative way of life. Whether they can do or be something else."

Related Articles

I grew up in Kolkata, which is a very creative city. The new wave of cinema from directors such as Satyajit Ray had a huge impact on my life. Ray portrayed rural poverty and people in the most excruciating living conditions with a great amount of gentleness. Those images stayed with me as I grew up. When I was 17 my father passed away. I took my his old Pentax camera and I left for Bombay, it became my passport to freedom.

Are you are drawn to stories from home? Are women’s issues very important to you?

I feel I have made a journey that many women cannot make - when women in extreme situations challenge their own roles in society, that definitely draws me in. I knew Water Aid was going to launch the ‘To Be A Girl’ campaign this summer. It isn't a secret that whole generations of girls are living without dignity, missing out on an education, a career, and livelihood simply because of a lack of these basic human rights. So, given my interests as a documentary photographer I wanted to be a part of that.

As a charity, Water Aid is able to campaign on a national level but they are also able to create change within the communities themselves. Giving girls proper access to sanitation is not only about protecting their health, it is about improving their self esteem and ensuring that they have a better chance in life. Women are often intimately involved in the running of grass roots organisations, as community mobilisers and so on. All of this helps to make women the agents of change.

WaterAid/ Poulomi Basu

I was shocked that 4000 people had to share 10 toilets. Is this unusual or are there even worse scenarios?

Yes, within the Nihura slum there are 4000 people consisting of 400 families, with 24 families using shared toilets and one set of community toilets with 10 seats. There also more than 100 families that don’t have access to any toilet at all and are forced to use open defecation sites. Use of community toilets costs Rs.90 a month, and they cannot afford this expense.

Could you describe your first impressions of the area where Kajal lives and also her family home?

Everything is open, there is garbage everywhere. It was hot and the smell is overpowering. The stretch of open sewer runs right up to Kajal’s house, so you really feel for the community living here. However, their homes are reasonably clean and tidy, they really do their best.

WaterAid / Poulomi Basu

Did you feel telling the story of Kajal and her family would help us identify with the situation of women in general throughout the subcontinent?

The story of Kajal is representative of the daily experience of many millions of women. I believed that by focusing on one individual, the story became much more emotionally charged. That helps make a connection between the subject and audience and explains difficult social-economic problems in a way that is easy to understand.

WaterAid / Poulomi Basu

You only had two days to make this story - how can you build a level of intimacy that is powerful enough to make us feel we know something of someone else's life?

You have to be very open about what you are doing. We had a clear focus regarding the issues and how they affect Kajal, so we spent from dawn to dusk observing her daily life, photographing situations as they unravelled in front of us. We shared every experience during those two days together, which of course builds a bond. I also helped to carry buckets of water.

WaterAid / Poulomi Basu

All girls have secrets, and sharing these secrets becomes a way for us to bond. As girls growing up In India, in a patriarchal society, we have that in common - talking about these things, how I felt growing up in such a society, it helps to balance the power between you and the subject. Because you have the camera and you are only visiting that community for a short time, and can leave, it's important to do anything you can to reduce the implicit hierarchy of the documentary process.

WaterAid / Poulomi Basu

How long did you work on this story?

I've been working on sanitation issues with Water Aid for well over a year now but in the case of Kajal it was just 48 hours. There is a lot of suspicion and resistance in the community, so we have to work fast. Hanging around too long could have had damaging consequences on the family in terms of the opinion of the wider community.

WaterAid / Poulomi Basu

How much preparation do you do before you begin shooting a commission?

Checking the weather is essential if you’re working during the monsoon. I also check if there are any specific diseases in that area. I am really careful about what I eat and drink, and my contacts. As a woman it's vital you keep people informed about where you are at all times.

Conceptually I anticipate the kind of location I’ll be working in, the kind of light that I’ll be working with. But most of the imagery forms spontaneously, when you there. What you see in front of you and what you document honestly is not something you can preconceive.

WaterAid / Poulomi Basu

In what ways might your work change things for the women you photograph?

Given the context of the situation for women in India, with therapes of the Patel sistersfor example, it’s important that my work raises awareness of the issues women face day to day. This work is more relevant now then ever before.

As a female photographer in India, even in my profession I witness misogyny rearing its ugly head. It’s very common and it’s hard to deal with. But things are changing. More people are coming forward to report rapes. There’s a greater consciousness. If anything can be done to help, we should do it.

WaterAid / Poulomi Basu

What do you take in your kit bag?

I travel light with a single camera and couple of lenses. When I shoot on film I use a Hassleblad with an 80m lens, and when digital, I use a Nikon V800 and two lenses. I shoot with fixed lenses. I usually take a back up camera but it depends where I am.

I also carry a small LED light if am working in remote places as it's quite handy when you're working with lantern light. I rarely take a tripod - I have a steady hand!